A blog launched on the 41st anniversary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the first pro-life organisation in the world, established on 11 January 1967. SPUC has been a leader in the educational and political battle against abortion, human embryo experimentation and euthanasia since then. I write this blog in my role as SPUC's chief executive, commenting on pro-life news, reflecting on pro-life issues and promoting SPUC's work.

Sunday, 7 September 2014

Delegates today at the national conference of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) www.spuc.org.uk were saddened to hear of the death of Jim Dobbin MP, who had been a long-serving chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group (APPPLG). The news was received as many of the delegates were attending Catholic Sunday Mass in the conference centre chapel. The Mass was followed immediately by prayers for the repose of the soul of Mr Dobbin, who was prominent in Catholic public life, followed by Pope St John Paul II's pro-life prayer "O Mary, Bright Dawn".

John Smeaton

About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 39 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to SPUC's staff, supporters and advisers for their help to me in researching, writing and producing this blog.

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